SUNDAY MERCURY WROTESuper Gray Goal Sinks ColeshillA flash of brilliance from Knowle winger Mike Gray settled the issue in the first period. Gray marked with a fine individual effort, beating two defenders before letting fly and finding the top corner from an acute angle.

SPORTS ARGUS WROTEColeshill had most of the play but lacked penetration because of the absence of three first team forwards and fell behind to a brilliant Mike Gray goal. Coleshill attacked early in the 7th minute when a long through ball by Teeling found Bennett on the right flank but his shot took a deflection. In the 23rd minute Whipps took a free kick just outside the penalty area following a handling offence and although his ball went through the wall it was well saved by keeper Williams in the Knowle goal. Knowle scored on the half hour with a brilliant individual goal by winger Gray. He beat two Coleshill defenders on the left flank before firing in a fierce shot which screamed into the roof of the Coleshill net. Five minutes later the same player threatened again after being put through by Thomas but his cross was cleared for a corner again taken by Thomas. It was headed clear by Whipps.Half-Time: Coleshill 0 v 1 Knowle.

COLESHILL HERALD WROTEPower-LessColeshill had most of the play throughout this Combination Premier Division game but without three regular forwards due to injuries and suspension, looked distinctly weak in terms of fire-power. In the first minute a long ball by Coleshill's Greg Bennett found Malcolm Teeling unmarked a few yards from the side of the goal but his low cross was smothered by the Knowle keeper Paul Williams. Five minutes later there was a similar move involving the same to players but this time Teeling supplied the ball to Bennett who was faced with virtually an open goal but his shot took a deflection. At the other end of the park Coleshill were put under pressure by left winger Mike Gray but his cross was cleared by centre-half Wayne Jenkins. The only goal of the game came on the half hour and was a brilliant solo effort by the aforementioned Gray. Gray picked the ball up virtually on the half way line to run down the left flank beating two of the home defenders in the process. His shot may well have been intended as a cross, but it looked marvellous as it hurtled into the top corner of the net, rattling the stanchion. Five minutes later, the same player threatened to do an action replay, but this time his cross/shot was knocked away for a corner, taken by Greg Thomas and eventually cleared out of harms way. In the second half Coleshill clearly dominated the mid-field so so that it was virtually one-way traffic and the Knowle goal was under siege for much of the time. But, their defence was well organised by two ex-professionals in the shape of Kevin Broadhurst and player/manager Paul Brady. Experience showed in the way they kept their cool and the home side increasingly threw everyone into the fray. At the same time Coleshill played some excellent football and were unlucky on a number of occasions. On the 72nd minute Jim Rosborough latched on to the ball as it was cleared out of the Knowle defence and his rasping ground shot was well held by Williams. The best effort fell to centre-half Wayne Jenkins, who had come up to lend his formidable strength to the attack, with five minutes to go, his long range shot beat the keeper and seemed to rebound off the up-right, but in fact the ball had bounced off an over-enthusiastic juvenile spectator who had got under the barrier.Man Of The Match: Jim Rosborough.

SOLIHULL NEWS WROTEGray Day For HillA brilliant individual performance and superb goal by Mick Gray inspired Knowle to a 1-0 win at Coleshill. It was especially sweet for several of the Knowle players, including player/manager Paul Brady who stepped out for Coleshill last season. The first 30 minutes of the match were quite even with both sides having good chances until the goal came out of no-where. Mick Gray picked the ball up 10 yards inside the Coleshill half. He beat three defenders along the left before letting fly with an unstoppable shot into the far top corner. The second half was controlled by Coleshill as they pressed forward in search of an equaliser. They peppered the Knowle goal with shots, mostly from long range and Rosborough and Jenkins both had shots well saved by keeper Williams. Coleshill's best chance came in the second minute of injury time when Greg Bennett shot from 30 yards but Williams managed to tip the ball around the post.